


luck of the draw

by heartsfilthylesson



Category: The Fall (TV)
Genre: F/F, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:32:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 4,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3913102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsfilthylesson/pseuds/heartsfilthylesson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a collection of tumblr ask box fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "dont know if you are still taking prompts but - stella x reed // stella falls asleep in reed's office and stella mumbles something about reed in her sleep and reed makes stella tell her about the dream"

Reed’s thumb firm on her clit. Her skin yielding beneath Stella’s hand. Kissing and biting and kissing. A hand stroking her hair as she comes, as she catches her breath, as she moves down on her body.  _Reed._   

Her hand reaches for a journal that isn’t there even before she’s fully awake. This is not her hotel room: Paul Spector transformed it into a crime scene, her diary into his reading material, into evidence. It’s not the cot in her office, it smells like disinfectant and coffee. The mortuary: Reed’s office, Reed’s sofa.  _Reed._

“Are you alright?”  She manages to look both concerned and curious. “You were talking in your sleep.”

Stella hums and sits up, runs a hand through her hair and smoothes down her shirt. “Yes,”  she says, sounding much more alert than she feels. “Thank you.”

“What were you dreaming about?” Reed sits beside her and taps her fingers on the armrest.

It takes her a few seconds to recall but when she does, she answers unflinchingly and without shame. “You.”

She doesn’t look surprised. “What about me?”

Here Stella hesitates. She remembers their kiss, the warmth of her thigh pressed against her own, her running away. “I believe that would make you uncomfortable.” She pauses and tilts her head.  “Croydon.”

There’s a slight change in Reed’s expression, something Stella can’t immediately read. “Try me.”

“The two of us together in bed.You made me come. I was ready to go down on you before I woke.” Stella relays the facts the same way she would provide updates for her team and waits for Reed to scramble away. She doesn’t.

Instead, Reed reaches for her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "stella x reed : the nail checking does not get interrupted and stella use those not to sharp nails..."

An inexplicable spark of jealousy was lit within her when she came across  _that_  article and now she’s here, in Stella Gibson’s car, questioning the woman’s personal life with no rationalisation to offer except professional curiosity. As she grabs her hand and allows her gaze to linger on cropped fingernails for longer than she should, she knows  _professional curiosity_  is nothing but a cruddy excuse. Stella knows it too.

 

Reed feels see-through under Stella’s piercing stare and, heartbeat racing, she lets go of her hand. The jealousy that fueled this impromptu visit dissipates, gives way to a heady mixture of panic and excitement. It’s too much, too intense, so Reed lowers her gaze for respite.

When she finally looks up, there’s a question in Stella’s eyes. All Reed can do is nod.

The moment stretches on for too long and the thought that she may have misinterpreted this, them, claws at Reed’s throat. Then, Stella shifts in her seat and strokes her neck. Keeping their gazes glued, she moves her touch upward, brushes her knuckles across Reed’s cheek before tangling a hand in her hair and bringing their faces closer. So close Stella’s slightly panting breath mingles with hers but she doesn’t kiss her yet. It’s another moment before Stella’s lips are on hers.

It’s not sweet or gentle. Stella’s mouth is hot and insistent, her tongue sliding in when Reed gasps. They part flushed and breathless, but Stella’s lips are back on her within an instant. She kisses the underside of her jaw, nips and licks along her neck while slim fingers unbutton and unzip Reed’s trousers.

Stella slides a hand in and the light, barely-there contact is enough to make Reed moan, to thrust her hips up. She’s almost embarrassingly wet and Stella’s teasing finger glides effortlessly along once, twice before she eases it in. Here she remembers just where they are, just how many police officers are nearby.

“Someone might come,” she gasps but doesn’t pull away.

“Good.” Stella slips in a second finger, circles Reed’s clit with her thumb. “That will be you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "stella & reed - first morning together in bed."

She wakes up with a body pressed against her back, a slim arm draped over her stomach, warm breath on her neck.  _Reed_.

(It’s a break from the norm. Stella can’t remember the last time she let someone spend the night. Then again, Reed probably can’t assert to have been with a woman before. Yet here they are, an early morning of exceptions. Ones that, if she’s honest with herself, she hopes will be repeat behaviour.)

Reed doesn’t stir as she disentangles herself from the bed and makes her way to bathroom. When she returns to the room, she’s sat cross-legged and half-naked, a confused expression on her face.

“I thought you’d left,” she says almost shyly.

Stella’s lips curve into a small smile and she sits on the edge of the bed. “It’s my hotel room.”

“Would that really stop you?”

“I suppose not,” she replies and lies back, her head inches from Reed’s thigh, “not if I didn’t want to stay.”

“Good.” Reed runs a finger along Stella’s jaw before tangling her hand in blonde hair. “Because I don’t want to leave yet.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> first kiss

Their first kiss –first kisses, rather— she erases from her memory. A fresh start is what Reed’s got in mind when she shows up uninvited in Stella’s office, much later than she should, several days after her unsavoury retreat and asks her to go for a drink.

Stella glances at the clock on the opposite wall but makes no comment on the time. She simply closes the file she’s working on, sets her pen aside and stands. “Alright.”

They arrive separately at the bar, a small and dark place just off city centre, and take a table in the farthest corner.

Whiskey, neat for Stella and on the rocks for Reed, is sipped in silence until Reed speaks. “About the other night,” she starts before Stella raises a hand to halt her.

“About the other night,” Stella repeats, and takes a long drink before setting down her empty tumbler, “a misunderstanding of sorts.”

Stella stares at her with such intensity it takes great effort to hold eye contact. Reed manages, though, and finishes her own whiskey before replying. “Perhaps.” She shifts closer. “But I’d like to kiss you again anyway.”

There’s a long pause and Stella’s poised to reply but Reed’s mouth is on hers before she gets a word out. It’s tentative at first, a soft brush of lips, before she slips her tongue, a hand tangled in the back of Stella’s head, and deepens the kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella/reed the alternate scene at the end of ep 4 in reed's office in which these two idiots actually talk about their feelings like the adults they are.

Stella offers no excuses for her visit: she shows up at the mortuary tight-lipped and empty-handed and all Reed can do is stare at her as if she’s gone mad. She must have, they both surely have, because whatever it is they’re doing –and here she must ask herself if they’re actually  _doing_  anything— can’t be average behaviour for the forty-something.  _Except you’re the only one acting like a schoolgirl_ , she thinks and fights the urge to roll her eyes.

She leaves the office promising to finish up quickly and Stella agrees to wait as long as it’s necessary. It’s hard not to wonder just what else she’s willing to wait for but Reed pushes that thought aside and focuses on weighing organs and taking notes.

It takes her much longer than anticipated to complete the autopsy and she half expects, half hopes even, Stella to be long gone. She’s still there though, barefoot and draped over the old sofa like she belongs in the muted office.

“You’re back,” she says as she sits up. Her voice low and rough, like whiskey and sex and Reed wants to bang her head against the wall until she stops associating Stella with such things.

She takes a seat on the opposite end of the sofa and nods. “Yeah.”

One leg tucked under her body, Stella shifts to face her. She looks so calm, so unperturbed, it’s almost infuriating. Then she apologises, a flicker of sadness in her eyes and Reed sighs.

“I misread you and overstepped.” Her words are slow and deliberate, the cadence fit for an interrogation room. “I trust you know it won’t happen again.”

That should be exactly what she wants to hear: no more kisses, no more whispered invitations. She should be glad but she’s only disappointed. There’s a long pause before either of them speaks.

“No misreading. I like you,” Reed says, feeling brave though her throat is dry and her voice wavers. It feels incredibly juvenile but it’s the truth so she swallows hard and tries once more. “What if I want it to happen again?”

Stella leans back into the sofa and away from her, giving her space. “I’m here now.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stella x Reed, hella office.

_“Slàinte.”_

They clink their faded, chipped mugs and take a sip of lukewarm coffee. There’s a generous splash of cheap scotch in it –a bottle of J&B borrowed without permission from the back of a dusty cupboard. It does little for the taste but it’s been a long day and alcohol always, always helps. Reed can already feel it unraveling the knots in her shoulders, loosening the tightness in her legs.

When they refill their cups, they don’t bother with the coffee. The burn is stronger now, down her throat and all the way to the bottom of her stomach and back up again. Whiskey heartburn. She shudders and takes another sip.

Stella leans back, eyes closed, and swirls the scotch in her cup. “I don’t remember the last time I had something this vile.”

“But somehow we’ve not stopped drinking it,” Reed says and takes another sip to emphasise her words. Stella chuckles, throaty and low and utterly pleasant.

Silence stretches on between them, comfortable enough Reed doesn’t feel compelled to fill it. She pours another round and watches Stella polish it off in one swig.

“Would it be terrible if I kissed you now?” Reed asks and shifts closer, suddenly lightheaded and giddy.

“It seems very inappropriate.” Stella keeps her voice much lower than it needs to be and tangles a hand in the back of Reed’s head. “But you’re the one that works here.”

She presses their lips together, kisses her lightly and chastely until Reed opens her mouth and welcomes her tongue in.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stella/reed + scars

“My youngest,” Reed says breathlessly as Stella traces a finger along the scar on her lower belly, left to right and then back. She leaves a trail of tiny kisses just below it, near the waistband of her unbuttoned trousers, breath hot and moist. Reed tries to stay still, tries to keep her hips on the bed when she runs her tongue down the puckered flesh once, twice, thrice.

Stella hums and murmurs something against her skin she doesn’t quite catch. Reed means to ask, wants to hear her every word, her every sentence, but Stella slides a hand beneath her underwear and all she can do is sigh.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stella/reed - touch

“I’ve never,” Reed begins, her kiss-swollen lips just inches from Stella’s, their noses brushing, their ragged breaths mingling. She sighs and looks away, stares at the photograph of a nondescript bridge on opposite wall before looking down at her lap. “I’m not sure what to do. You’re my—“

Stella interrupts her by lifting her chin with a finger, by pressing their mouths together in a chaste kiss. She wraps her slim fingers around Reed’s wrist and guides her hand to her flushed chest, above white lace.

“Touch.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella/reed - mischief

“It’s a bit dead tonight.”

Eyebrows raised, Reed looks up from the papers and photographs scattered on the desk. “Was that a joke?”

Stella’s draped over the old sofa Reed brought from home after the divorce, a forensic journal in her hands. “Maybe,” she says without taking her eyes her eyes off the magazine, “but it is a mortuary.”

Unable to think of something to add, Reed goes back to looking at pictures of a corpse and filling out details on the overdue report. The scratching of pen against paper is loud in the quietness of the office.

“Hi.” She’s startled by Stella’s voice close to her ear, by her hands closing the file in front of her. “I think you’ve worked quite enough.” There’s a mischievous glint in Stella’s eyes as she swivels the chair away from the desk. Reed swallows, watches as she pushes up her skirt over her hips and straddles her.

She undoes the first two buttons of Reed’s practical green shirt before pulling away. “Or perhaps I should just let you finish.”

Reed shakes her head once and brings their mouths together. “Don’t you dare.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no douchebag showed up at the bar

“Sorry I took long,” Stella says, lips pressed into a strained smile, as she slides into the booth. She picks up the fresh glass in front of her and takes a long sip. Whiskey neat. She raises an eyebrow and Reed shrugs. They both need the alcohol, Reed thinks, and reaches for her own drink.

“Any news?”  Reed wipes moisture off the smooth black tabletop with a cocktail napkin and watches Stella from the corner of her eye. She runs a hand through her hair and leans back against the plush seat.

“Not quite.”

Reed’s not sure she believes her but knows better than to ask again. Instead, she focuses on the sodden napkin between her fingers. It breaks off into tiny pieces and she sets them all aside.

Stella summons a waiter with a flick of her thin wrist and asks for another round. The last one, Reed tells herself, already feeling flushed and lightheaded and far too comfortably uncomfortable in Stella’s presence.

“I should apologise too,” Stella starts after their drinks have been served, and Reed feels her gaze linger on her. She swallows and keeps her own eyes glued to the table. “I did not mean to sound accusing before.”  

Stella doesn’t stumble over her words, does not hesitate but Reed can tell –she  _thinks_  she can tell– they don’t come with ease.

“You didn’t.” She shrugs and squeezes lime into her vodka tonic. Her third of the night and two more than she intended to have when she arrived. “Well, perhaps a bit,” she adds with a short, awkward laugh. Reed wonders if Rose will find her newly formed friendship with Tom suspicious as well. _I know it looks bad_ , she doesn’t say and meets Stella’s gaze. The intensity of it sends something odd but not unwelcome running through her and she finds she can’t look away.

“He’s just my friend, you know,” she says, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice.

It feels like a long time before Stella replies, her eyes never leaving Reed’s face. “I know.”

“I should go,” she says and drains the last of her drink.

There’s another smile on Stella’s face, a lazy quirk of her lips, and she shifts closer. “Not yet.”

Her thigh presses against hers, fingers settling on her knee, and she feels her blonde hair brush the uncovered skin of her arms. _She’ going to kiss me,_ Reed thinks and, heart threatening to burst past her rib cage and into Stella’s lap, leans forward to meet her halfway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me at drbedeliadumaurier.tumblr.com


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella is asleep on Reed's couch and she's awakened by fingers in her hair.

Paul Spector, prostrate on a hospital bed, is no longer a threat; the case is almost over and there’s a warm hotel room waiting for her. There’s no good reason why Reed should offer her guestroom for the night, there’s no good reason for Stella to accept but she finds herself knocking on a heavy red door, overnight bag swung over her shoulder anyway.

“I hope you didn’t have trouble finding the house,” Reed says as she lets her in.

The sitting room is large and done in earthy colours, a few toys are scattered on the hardwood floors and there are pictures on every wall. It’s very much a home and Stella decides she likes it. “No. Your directions were quite clear, thankyou.”

They stand facing each other in silence for a full minute. Reed looks at the walls, at the floor, at the ceiling, anywhere but at Stella. She opens her mouth twice but says nothing. It’s Stella who finally speaks. “Your girls?”

“With their father,” Reed answers, noticeably relieved to have something to say, and offers to fix supper.

Though Stella proffers her help, Reed insists she stay away from the kitchen and make herself at home elsewhere. She chooses a forest green sofa and lays back to look at the photograph of a grinning toddler holding a baby hanging on the opposite wall.

She’s not quite sure when she fell asleep but hands, Reed’s hands, in her hair wake her.

“Hi.” Reed’s breath is hot on her skin, mouth brushing her earlobe. “Dinner’s ready.”

She sighs as Reed drags her fingernails along her scalp, face hovering above hers, lips nearly touching. For a moment, Reed looks so nervous Stella’s certain she will pull away. Instead, she kisses her gently.

“Dinner can wait.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things you said with no space between us.

She presses her chest into Stella’s sweat-slick back and lets her hand travel across her collarbones, between her breasts, down her stomach. It surprises her how quickly her anxiety disappeared,  how certain she feels about this now, how much she wants her.

Her hand slips further down, her touch light, and she feels Stella sigh against her chest. She slides her middle finger along wet skin once, twice, before easing it in, thumb firm against her clit.

“Stella?” Reed speaks into the juncture of her neck and shoulder and leaves tiny close-mouthed kisses before her tongue slips out to taste salt on skin. Stella hums and reaches for her hair, short fingernails digging into the base of her scalp when she slides in a second finger. ”I’m glad I came back.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reed drives an exhausted Stella home.

Arms folded across her chest and lips downturned into a scowl, Stella Gibson looks childish and petulant. If it weren’t for the bags under her eyes and the slight sag of her shoulders, for how thoroughly exhausted she looks, Reed would be much more than just mildly frustrated. She sighs and extends a hand, palm up, in a wordless request.

“I’m not tired,” Stella says and reaches for her coat, misses a button in her haste to put it on. “I’m driving.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” A hand on her hip and her most menacing look. It’s the face she wears when her girls are being particularly naughty, the one her youngest calls Mummy’s Grumpy Gruffalo. “You’re not bloody driving.”

Stella sighs audibly, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Her attitude only helps further Reed’s annoyance and she briefly considers simply snatching the keys away and dragging her to the car. Ordinarily she’d have absolutely no chance of overtaking her, not with her wiry swimmer’s muscles and police training. In her current bleary state, though, Reed thinks she just might have a chance.

It takes statistics on traffic accidents and fatalities, all of which Stella unhelpfully points out are grossly incorrect, for Stella to relent. She hands Reed the key fob with a muttered  _fine_  and follows her to the car.

Traffic is surprisingly light for the hour and Reed tunelessly hums along to some singer or another her daughters love while Stella fumes in the passenger seat. As they approach the Merchant, the corners of her lips turn upward and she turns to look at her, to  _gloat_ because yes, she won this one. She barely gets a word out because Stella, head tilted back and mouth slightly open, is fast asleep.  


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stella shows Reed what to do.

“I’m sorry.” Reed rolls away from Stella and shuts her eyes. Anxiety and excitement make a heady combination and she feels her stomach tighten even as her limbs tingle. “This is the first time I’ve—” she trails off into a sigh.

Stella lies still beside her, close but not touching. When Reed looks at her again, there’s a small smile on her lips. “I know.”  Her tone is flat, dispassionate almost but somehow comforting.

“I want this, though,” Reed adds and runs the pads of her fingers along Stella’s bare arm. She shivers slightly under Reed’s touch and the nearly imperceptible action urges her on. “I want you.”

The rest of the statement hangs unspoken between them: But I don’t know how.

“I know,” she repeats and sits up, back flat against the headboard. Supine on the bed, Reed watches the steady rise and fall of her bare, flushed chest, watches as she rolls a nipple between her index and thumb, as her other hand slips between her open legs.  She swallows hard as heat gathers in the lowest part of her abdomen despite the way she came only moments ago under Stella’s wicked tongue.

“One,” Stella says, the single word thick with arousal, and slips her middle finger inside herself. She counts again and another finger follows, then another. “Curl.” Her thumb on her clit in fast, counterclockwise circles, she tilts her head and blonde hair falls over her face like a curtain.

Reed keeps her gaze glued on Stella’s small form and presses her legs together for relief she doesn’t quite get. Before she really notices, her fingers are inside her, her thumb on her clit, her hips nearly matching Stella’s increasing rhythm.

A quick orgasm races through her only moments after Stella reaches hers.

“My turn,” Reed says and kisses her cheek. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella x reed: a super hot sexy night during a weekend getaway

Their planes land within thirty minutes of each other and, after checking into their hotel, spend the warm afternoon exploring the city. Stella, wearing dark jeans and a sleeveless green blouse, looks so relaxed that all the anxiety Reed had surrounding this trip dissipates. It’s not strange: friends travel with friends all the time. Except you’re not just friends if you’re sleeping together, her mind helpfully supplies and she almost rolls her eyes.

It’s not until much later, as they return to their room after wine and tapas, that Reed’s uneasiness reappears. It takes her three tries to unlock the door and she nearly jerks when Stella tries to help her with the cardkey.

“Are you alright?” Stella asks as she steps out of her shoes and into the bathroom.

“I’m a bit nervous,” Reed admits with a half shrug Stella can’t really see. She hears water running and soft laughter coming from the ensuite.

Stella returns within moments, trousers folded in her hands, and takes a seat beside Reed on the king-sized bed. “This was your idea,” she mock whispers and kisses Reed’s cheek, hands working at the buttons of her white linen shirt. Lips pressed behind Reed’s ear, Stella’s knuckles brush the skin of her stomach and the top of her breasts. “But I can ring the front desk for another room if you’re so anxious.”

She shakes her head no and strokes the soft skin of Stella’s bare thighs.

“Are you certain?”  Stella nips at her earlobe and unhooks her bra. “I’m sure they can accommodate me.”

Reed inches her fingers higher and traces her through lace underwear. “Shut up.” Stella murmurs fair enough or something similar against her neck and pushes her to lay flat on the duvet.

Elbows resting on either side of her, Stella presses her hips into Reed’s. Stella’s mouth is on hers then, a quick peck on the lips, before moving downwards, licking and biting her neck and shoulders; she swirls her tongue around hard nipples, sucks and uses teeth. Reed throws her head back and closes her eyes.

“This was a good idea,”  Stella says in an uncharacteristic moment of candour as she settles near the foot of the bed. She drops chaste kisses on  the back of Reed’s knees and along her inner thighs before pushing her underwear aside. With the light contact Reed’s hips lift off the bed and Stella places a forearm across her lower stomach to still her when she eases in an finger.

Reed reaches for Stella’s unoccupied hand and laces their fingers together, her grip tight. Another moment and Stella’s tongue is on her, leaving long, slow slicks. She slides in a second finger and draws her clit between her lips, sucking even as she comes hard.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr @ drbedeliadumaurier


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good morning kiss.

Stella’s eyes open before her alarm goes off and stays unmoving for awhile, loathe to leave Reed’s side yet. It’s still strange not to wake up alone, to hear the rustle of bedsheets, to feel warmth beside her. Strange but decidedly nice.

Face pressed against a pillow, Reed mumbles something unintelligible and groans.. “Morning,” she tries again once she’s rolled over and, eyes still closed, searches for Stella’s hand.

“Hey,” she says and squeezes Reed’s hand before letting go. “I’m going to shower.” Stella’s halfway up when Reed wraps her fingers around her wrist and pulls her back to bed.

“Morning kiss first.” Reed smiles and kisses the corner of Stella’s mouth.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella x reed - mistletoe

Different as they may be, the PSNI behave very much like their Met counterparts. At least, whenever alcohol is involved. With whiskey and vodka poured freely in colourful plastic cups, their Christmas party ends up as quite the event. From a corner, drink nestled between her hands, Stella watches as the station empties out, some officers looking much friendlier with each other than they ordinarily would.

She lingers a moment longer, and as the first few officers on duty begin to fill the bullpen, a familiar face approaches her. Reed Smith looks exhausted but she offers a smile anyway. “Looks like you’ve had quite the bash.”

Stella hums and offers her own cup. Reed shakes her head and waves the folder she’s holding. “Just came to hand these in.” They stare at each other for a few seconds. “Well, I should give the files to—“ she trails off, eyes fixed on the doorsill while Stella follows her gaze. Mistletoe.

The air around them changes quite quickly. Reed’s lips curve into a nervous smile and Stella stands still as marble.

“I’d hate to break the tradition.” Reed glances around the room. It’s still nearly empty so she steps forward and plants a kiss on Stella’s cheek, near the corner of her mouth. “Happy Christmas,” she says and goes in for another kiss, on the lips this time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella x reed - kiss

Their kiss is brief but Stella’s lips are soft –brown sugar scrubs and balm, Reed thinks rather frivolously. When she presses their mouth together a second time, she tastes whisky but what she wants to taste is her, what she wants is to kiss her again.

Stella pulls away and turns toward the intruder and unflinchingly, beautifully asks him to bugger off. Reed momentarily panics, wonders if the kiss had little to do with her and everything with teaching the man some sort of lesson, make him think twice before approaching unassuming women at dimly lit bars.

“That was nice,” Stella says and Reed feels like she can breathe again. Heartbeat racing, she tells her the man probably knows them both, all while hoping that doesn’t dissuade her from kissing her again.

Her answer might be the greatest thing she’s heard in the past year:  _so what?_

This time it’s Reed who kisses her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> memory

Stella doesn’t have to share the contents of her journal with Reed but she does so anyway. Paul Spector and Jim Burns and some CSIs and perhaps even some detectives have read it, they have been granted definite insight into her mind, all without her permission. What she reveals now she does willingly.

“I record all my dreams,” she says and takes a long sip of her neat whiskey.

Reed stares as her hands as she breaks a damp paper napkin into bits. “What do you dream of?” “

“Of cases and murderers, of my father.” Stella leans her head against the back of the booth and closes her eyes. “They’re memories sometimes. I’m nine and he’s in the front row of one of my swimming competitions, buys me ice cream because I win first place.” She pauses to take another drink and turns her body towards Reed. “I dream of other things, too.”

“Like what?” Reed asks, tearing her eyes away from her hands to look at Stella’s face.

It’s a long moment before Stella speaks again. “You.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flowers

Stella presses her nose into the junction of Reed’s neck and shoulder. Something flowery –tuberose, perhaps— lingers on her damp skin, but what she truly smells like is sweat and sex and woman.

“You wore perfume,” she murmurs against her right trapezius and tastes salt on her lips. Stella feels Reed’s breath quicken when she drags a lazy finger around her nipple, when she strokes the soft flesh of her stomach.

“Yes.” Reed tries to turn around to face her but Stella stops her, “or would you rather have me reek of death?”

Her hand wanders further down before stopping on her lower abdomen. “It suits you.”

“Death or perfume?”

She kisses her neck and slips a hand between her legs. “Both.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> collarbone kiss

Her body flush against Stella’s, Reed presses her ear to her colleague’s –friend, lover— bare chest. She listens as her heart rate slows down, feels her breaths come more evenly and wonders how anyone could ever think of this woman as cold.

“Thank you,” she murmurs into her skin and places a kiss below her left clavicle. Stella shudders and salt clings to Reed’s tongue when she licks her lips.

**Author's Note:**

> so i'm finally posting these here.


End file.
